The continuation of the monetary crisis in Lebanon (Hussein Beydoun / Al-Araby Al-Jadeed)
The dollar exchange rate exceeded In Lebanon For the first time in the country’s history, and since the start of the economic crisis in late 2019, the threshold of forty thousand Lebanese pounds, at a time when fuel prices continue to rise.
This comes on the anniversary of the uprising of October 17, 2019, which was launched after the exposure of the economic collapse and the smuggling of millions of dollars from Lebanese banks abroad.
record price dollar exchange On the black market, this morning, between 40,100 and 40,300 pounds, in a path that was not affected by the positive atmosphere established by the agreement demarcating the southern maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.
On the fuel line, the prices of 95-octane and 98-octane gasoline increased by 7 thousand pounds, diesel was 9 thousand pounds, and gas by 3 thousand pounds, bringing the prices as follows: 95-octane gasoline 737 thousand pounds, 98-octane 754 thousand pounds, and diesel or diesel oil 884 thousand pounds. pounds, and a gas bottle of 440 thousand pounds.
Today marks the third anniversary of the “October 17 Uprising”, which was launched by what was known as the “WhatsApp tax”, before the movement expanded in protest against Economic conditions Today, the street has lost its enthusiasm, despite the exacerbation of the crisis and the insane rise in prices that also included telecommunications and the Internet, at prices that have more than tripled.
That stage witnessed the first strikes in the banking sector, which is accused of committing the “crime of the age” as it is called in Lebanon, which lies in smuggling depositors’ money, transferring it to the privileged, and seizing people’s deposits. Today, too, banks engage in strikes every time the judiciary knocks on their door, and they close their doors in the face of customers, in protest of some of them fulfilling their own right.
The protests continued in the Lebanese street for several weeks, during which the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri fell on October 29, 2019, and it raised the slogan “All means all”, to put the entire political system in one box, and hold it responsible for wasting public money, corruption and the collapse of the country, due to the accumulation of The policies of quotas, clientelism, settlements and deals in partnership with the banking system, all of which came at the expense of the Lebanese people.
Since late 2019, Lebanon has witnessed an unprecedented collapse at the level of various sectors that have been paralyzed as a result of public sector strikes and a decline in services. The authorities have recently taken a decision to adopt 15,000 pounds as an official exchange rate instead of 1,507 pounds, after also raising the customs dollar, In a path that is supposed to be implemented at the beginning of next month, knowing that all the decisions taken and the laws that pass under the cloak of reform, and to satisfy the International Monetary Fund, exacerbate the suffering of people, at a time when protecting the owners of money, banks and politicians.